I was just talking to shipmate on tumblr about a realisation I had. There was a quote from Sylvia Plath about first kisses being important to the progression of a relationship or something to that effect. But yeah: We never saw Swanfire’s first kiss. All the significant building-up of their romance was just skipped. That says it all. I’ve said it so many times, but Captain Swan are endgame. No doubt. If you are doubting, please stop now, you’re causing yourself anxiety and grief that you just don’t have to feel!
Love this! Very good point about not seeing all the build-up and progression of SF, just the highlight reel with a couple of cute kisses thrown in after they were an established couple but nothing like this one! Same goes for Hook/Milah. We saw them spending a little bit of time together, enough to see he was willing to die to protect her and understand his rage and quest for revenge, but we never saw them kiss, not once.
Just finished rewatching 1×02 of OUATIW and in a conversation between Alice & Cyrus (who I swear are basically Snowing but with different personalities), Cyrus talked about moving around all the time from master to master and that they eventually all move on and this was Alice’s response:
I’m afraid I know the feeling. I know what it’s like to feel moved on from.
It gave me so many feelings! Definitely of sadness for her of course but it also immediately brought to mind Emma:
- She grew up thinking her parents didn’t want her
- She was in and out of the foster system including staying with a family until she was 3 and then they had their own kid so she was sent back
- Neal promised her the world and she was left alone in jail, pregnant, still believing in him
- She spent 2 years driving around Tallahassee probably trying to convince herself that she was right about her instincts (which she was) but then she felt like he must have moved on because he wasn’t there for her like he said he would be before the whole jail thing
- Emma actually saw that Neal HAD moved on (A&E have said as much and that’s what we believed watching the show too) and outright told him he found THEIR dream with someone else
So basically Emma, who has said she has felt ALONE her whole life, feels like she’s always been abandoned for something better. Like every time she gets a family or a home, they leave. They “move on” and she is left with nothing other than the back seat of a car. A car (and a necklace) that are constant reminders that you can’t trust anyone because the second you do, you get your heart broken and what’s the point? It’s safer to hide who you are, to wear your armor and flit from fling to fling than to give someone the power over you, to break you into a million pieces.
She started doing that with Graham *sniff* after putting up a tough fight and trying not to care and look what happened, the one time somebody made an effort to put her first.
She resisted from MM’s friendship and from Henry even at first. They won her over, slowly, and helped her become someone who does want something real. She could have had a fling with Graham if she wanted to but she stayed away and then got JEALOUS when she realized he was with Regina and started attacking flowers and arguing heavily against what MM was clearly seeing when she was right and Emma was starting to have feelings.
This is Emma Swan, she wears her armor well but just for an instant Graham got through to her, and Hook is getting to her now. He started to on that beanstalk (which we’ve been over a million times) because she recognized that they DO make a great team, that he WAS working with her, and that he was actually intuitive and inciteful and fun to be around (let’s face it, the Hook persona he hides behind is very flirtatious and at times rather charming), and she couldn’t risk another charming thief worming his way into her heart so she made herself believe that he would have done the same even though he wouldn’t have.
She knew all he wanted was to get to SB. He never tried to take the compass from her, he chuckled and respected her for holding onto it herself. He knew it would be awhile before she trusted him fully, but he really was in a good spot working with her rather than Cora who he obviously didn’t want to be around. We know for a fact that he stole Cora’s magical cuff so even if Cora sent him to get in good with the girls to find out what they were up to, that was NOT part of the plan. Hook wanted out of there and he picked somebody else to work with. Love the “I was hoping it’d be you” thrown in there for good measure too! (And of course the “everything we need is right in front of us”…as he walks, directly in front of her (and she watches, just like he does when she walks in front of him in NL. They always keep their eyes on each other! – And he would “despair” if she didn’t keep an eye on him. FEELS ATTACK FROM BEANSTALK, I apologize!)
This is how Emma acts. She only has room for one major emotion at a time and everything else gets her flustered when it comes at her at once. She didn’t meet him long after finding out that Henry had been right all along, magic exists, she was the savior, her parents were Snow White & Prince Charming, her son’s life was at risk and he was everything to her at this point and she didn’t have time to be doubting her instincts as well.
Now she’s had that closure. She’s gotten a couple of answers about knowing now that Neal never intended for her to go to jail. She’s finally starting to embrace who she really is and what that means and leaning on people for the first time in a long time. The last person she likely trusted before coming to SB was Neal and that ended very badly for her. Henry and her parents are her whole world now and she’s still at odds with them now that it’s not just MM her best friend anymore.
Now Emma is SEEING (which is important for women like Snow and Emma) that Hook is really in this and is being HELPFUL which is what he promised when they first worked together. He is showing her that his “actually, no” really meant something. That he genuinely respects her and cares for her and is taking care of her while helping her find her son, her world. He gets what’s at stake and even though he is obviously hurting in his own way right now, he is choosing to focus ON HER. He is her rock right now.
Her parents are there and important to her but they do not yet know or understand who she really is deep down inside but Hook does. He has always known and it just draws him closer to her. He sees how wonderful she is and wants to know more but doesn’t push it to the same level that Snow does.
They back each other up. They are most definitely “quite the team” and he gets to PRESENT DAY Emma in a way that we haven’t seen much of. Even the Graham parallels are from before she knew magic existed or that she had this whole other life she didn’t know about to embrace and figure out who she is now.
Snow has and probably will continue to interpret things differently because she projects herself onto Emma sometimes. You can tell she doesn’t get why some of this stuff hasn’t just blown over already because she’s made it clear how much it hurt her to give Emma up and how much her TL means to her which happens to be her 1st love (that we know of), and how much they regretted her being apart from them until now, but Emma is not Snow and she did not grow up in a fairy tale. They have many, many similarities and it’s probably why they butt heads a lot, but right now, Emma is dealing with things that Snow can only imagine if that. Regretting one’s actions is one thing but it doesn’t erase the pain caused by those actions.
It’s interesting that the kiss we all predicted is happening just TWO EPISODES after Regina calling Hook Emma’s boyfriend. Not much time has passed at all, maybe a day or two (we’ll have to wait and see). I’m assuming the coconut scene was basically an evening because they’re sitting around the fire resting and we’ve seen them sleep in NL already before that. So between Regina’s comment and the kiss, it might be a couple of days, but it’s still not tons of time between the two. If anything, it may have gotten Emma thinking about it for a little bit and wondering why Regina might think that, but again – she went and sat closely with him at the fire and didn’t seem to mind one bit. Her body language was still guarded and closed off a little, but she was still very close to him. If I’d been accused of being into someone I definitely wasn’t, I would not have been sitting there that night!
I really really love gif of the JR5 when they’re closing in together to look at the map once Emma cracks it. Snow is on the left with Charming reaching out for her as they walk toward the center where the map is. Hook is on the left and Emma gets in close to share the map but she puts her arm behind him and stands extra close to him, almost mirroring Snowing’s actions but subtley, not grabbing for a hand but still reaching out and getting in close to Hook, as close as possible, and then Regina just comes in from the right.
These are not the actions of someone who is put off by or not interested. Yes they have to stand close together to see stuff especially on a tiny map, but she could have stood shoulder to shoulder or over a bit, nobody else had a problem. Emma’s arm is clearly reaching toward his back as she (once again) leans in closely.
She may have her guard up still a bit but I really think it’ll be cracking big time soon at least for a little bit and of course, leading up to 3×05 with THE KISS and I’m wondering what else we’ll get too. It’s Hook-heavy (YAY!) and pre-pirate (YAY!) and we’re supposed to be seeing what makes Killian such a kindred soul with Emma and understand that connection deeper so I love that the kiss is in THIS episode! If they already spoiled the kiss, I can’t wait to see what ELSE is in store in said episode, especially what sets up the kiss, and what happens afterward. All we know right now is that there will be a small victory! Somehow it has to make sense with the present day storyline since they often parallel the past. I wonder if this will be an episode where Hook opens up to Emma more? He reads her like an open book but she’s still learning about him – and apparently liking what she sees and not just in a fling kind of way!
I still find it interesting that JMO is the one promoting it though and not Colin (or is he doing that as well?). To be on the safe side, I’d have kept JMO away from having to deal with pesky triangle questions when there is SO much more going on with her character, and I’d have let Colin go do that episode’s promotion since it’s Hook’s backstory which we haven’t gotten hardly any of so far.
Also interesting to note: that they are doing promotional stuff for it at all. The actors are interviewed for stuff all the time but not usually making talk-show rounds for it. That makes me wonder just HOW IMPORTANT this episode will be in the longrun! Will it make things more obvious that it’s real and happening and setting up something long term? Hope it means that it IS significant! I can’t remember what was airing the other times they’ve sent them out to really promote the show other than premieres and finales (I’m sure it’s happened and falls wherever it makes sense in the schedule) but I’m still surprised they’d send out JMO for THAT episode.
If it were Emma backstory I’d get it, but as far as we know nothing like that has been shot yet and they’re around 3×10 I think. She said recently that any info about her past that we’re learning is from Neal because he’s the only one that has any history with her and that means it’ll likely just be comments like we’ve had already on the show, hinting at backstory but not letting us see it which means they’re not doing any SF flashbacks with that I would think, just comments like he was doing before. Saying things like “You always find what you’re looking for.” – camera pans to Hook tied up in back of van. Same would be true in reverse with Neal info through Emma, like the fact that he always hated mayo. Basically stuff we’ve already dealt with, not huge ground-breaking moments and if they are…then that’s even LESS than a highlight which is already an annoying way to do an epic love story. ]/spoiler]We’re watching CS play out in real time, with almost every interaction they’ve ever shared. We’re literally not living in the past. Thank goodness.
Colin doing promotion would make sense because he could say something like “well Hook clearly fancies her” etc etc but sending JMO to do it? I hope fans are kind because even though she’s been saying the same fairly neutral stuff it could still be dangerous when you KNOW she’ll be asked about this. People are already shaming Emma and calling her names and telling Adam they won’t give the show a 2nd chance until they stop butchering her character by having her kiss a pirate. I sincerely hope none of them are fans of POTC as that would be hugely hypocritical. Sigh. This fandom sometimes. *shakes them* We haven’t even seen it play out yet!
I’m wondering what will happen when they finish filming 3×11. I know they’ll get a break around Thanksgiving/Christmas but I wonder how far into the future they’ll keep filming since we won’t get the 2nd half of the season for awhile (or maybe that’s a good thing cause then they’ll have more time for any CGI? lol)
Either way sooooo excited right now and not letting myself doubt anymore. When I start to I go look up all this wonderful stuff and I refuse to believe that they’re trolling us that hard to get people to watch. Sure the ratings are going up when they’ve been promoting CaptainSwan but if that’s what’s getting it right now and they pull the rug out from under people, many will feel lied to and could stop watching in the future, and I don’t want that to happen.
I LOVE the show, not just my favorite characters or ships and I would devastated if they kept saying here’s CS, here’s CS, and then saying never mind, we fooled you. It’s unnecessary. Completely. The CS fanbase is rabid enough to keep watching and hoping and use whatever little things we can find to hold onto and would have been here watching regardless. No need to make me think it has a legit chance. I know, I know, it builds the triangle better, but the other half of it is cemented and never had to endure people saying it never happened or will never happen and it hasn’t been promoted much at all. I know people had extreme reservations about Hook but they gave him the BELIEVE poster about being a hero and they’ve been showing it to us on screen. Most of us can see it coming (whether everyone wants to or not, some see it but think it temporary). Yes we can see it play out on screen with Hook being built up, but actually hyping it and mentioning it all the time would just be pouring salt in the wound if it doesn’t happen and make it hard to trust anything they say (and the PR dept is already in question for me to begin with!). I’d like to THINK they’re not stupid enough to do that but only time will tell.
But I do believe. The writers know what they’re doing. They’re telling the story they always intended to tell and they aren’t changing it just because the fans are smart and have figured stuff out. CS fans have been calling a lot of things this season so far and I hope that continues I really do. I know they have to say have hope and keep watching til it plays out, and I’m sure they’re hoping we all learn to love whatever the outcome is because they’re sure to tell an amazing story, but given how heated and nasty the fandom has gotten over it, I’m not sure how many would actually look at it objectively and not just see red if their NOtp were to happen. It would probably take me a longgg time to calm down and learn to love that one aspect, but usually even the episodes I don’t care for I can find something good in and it’s not just a shipper show, it’s a wonderful story. I have faith that they’ll stick to their vision and Adam did say that his vision for Hook and Emma’s story is intact. And as we all know, he is our King! (Yay for him seeing your tweet Obisgirl!)
So for now I have to hope my beloved pirate and his swan girl ride off into the sunset…after a lot of obstacles, including their pasts, are dealt with. This is long from over and I would expect nothing less!
Keeper of Hook's Trenchcoat.